Rats are overrunning cities. People are fighting back with dry ice and birth control

Rats populations are spiking in cities across the United States—and in many, it’s only getting worse.

From Houston to New York City to Washington, D.C., warmer winters are giving rodents more time to breed, according to the New Republic. And with how quickly rats can breed, even one extra litter a year can spell a baby boom.

Rodent complaints in Chicago were up 9 percent in the early part of the summer alone—and that’s in a city that just last year held the dubious distinction of being “the rattiest in America,” according to USA Today. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio unveiled a $32 million plan to root out rats in July, but even that only targets the most infested areas.

“I travel all over the world,” rat expert Bobby Corrigan told the New Republic. “Complaints and feedback and questions I hear right now are all, ‘We’ve never seen rats in the city like this before.’ They’re all expressing the same concern: Our rat problem is worse than ever.”

Rats aren’t just a nuisance rummaging through garbage cans in back alleys, though. They can spread disease and eat away at buildings and infrastructure.

Germs ranging from E. Coli to salmonella can hitch a ride on the furry pests, according to The Washington Post. And in 2000 alone, rats caused $19 billion worth of economic damage, according to the New Republic, including the costs incurred when they destroy parts of buildings.

Chicago is even using rat birth control to halt the rodent influx, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The city has been sprinkling the streets with a poison called ContraPest that makes the rats infertile. And with EPA’s sign-off, the city is also using dry ice to combat the pests.

“The dry ice method serves as a safe and quick approach that essentially puts rats to sleep before they perish,” said Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Charles Williams, according to the Sun-Times.

Frustrated homeowners and businesses across the country have taken matters into their own hands rather than waiting for cities to respond.

Last year, calls to the pest control company Orkin complaining of rodent problems were up 67 percent in Boston, 174 percent in San Francisco, 129 percent in New York City and 57 percent in Washington, D.C., according to USA Today.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Rats are overrunning cities. People are fighting back with dry ice and birth control."